Instead of derailing the GM thread, thought I'd continue my lobbying for Trotz to be our new head coach here

Tciso wrote:Hmm. but, going with Trotz would be kinda funny. Cherry would get the 2 names mixed up all the time.

That would be worth it alone, jk.

rats19 wrote:I don't want to play predators hockey thank you very much in advance of your anticipated cooperation.

Part of the preds style though is due to the fact they don't have any real scorers up front, especially with their slim budget, so Trotz has them play a certain way to win.

I think Trotz would be a calm influence again like AV but more involved, and a bit more supportive/assertive/humble, the key thing to me is that he's ADAPTABLE in his coaching ways in terms of he works with what he's got.

Trotz had an epiphany in his first year, the expansion year, when the Predators inherited a handful of castoffs from their NHL brethren and were badly overmatched virtually every night.

“At first, I'd be barking at guys and losing my mind when things weren't going real well, and I noticed, when I did that, they got worse and worse,” Trotz said. “I hadn't figured out, these were all fringe players from all the other teams. What I've learned is if you're like that, it gets old in a hurry.

“I really think that coaching now is like being a business leader; you've got to create an environment where people feel they have a voice. It's not the old days, where it was ‘my way or the highway.' Players are owners in the clubs now ... and my job is to get these 23 or 24 individual businesses to work together.”

Hard work has been a trademark of the Predators’ organization ever since. Trotz usually gets the most out of the players at his disposal, but he will dispute the widely held notion that his team perennially overachieves. His view is that there is no such thing as overachieving (“other than me marrying my wife,” he quips, sheepishly) because if you ultimately succeed at something, then the goal was always within your grasp.

“I just ask players to play to their potential, and that’s all,” Trotz said. “You want to put people in positions to succeed. What we’ve been able to do is look at a player and say, ‘what is your talent? What is your real talent?’

“Sometimes, there are certain guys that can’t do some things, so you accept them for what they can do and you try to push them closer to what you want them to do and then you try to put them with people that will help them do it.”

Gill – the former Montreal Canadiens’ player – has already formed a positive first impression of Trotz.

“In the time I’ve known him, he’s kind, he’s fair, he’s open, but he demands a lot,” Gill said. “He has systems that he wants you to be a part of – and he demands that from his players. He’s a guy you can go and talk to – not just about hockey, but about anything. He’s open. It’s been enjoyable so far.”

Weber, the team captain, says one of Trotz’s strengths in that he handles the preparation and then permits the leadership group to be “responsible for the work ethic and the chemistry.

“He’s a players’ coach too. He’s got an open door. You can go in there and talk to him; and he’ll come out and talk to you.”

Trotz says the strategy to empower the players is deliberate: “We give the players ownership. We don’t micromanage them. We ask them for their input and listen to their input and make it work. That’s part of the culture.

“Coaching is not about equality, it’s about inequality, but the one thing that should be equal is respect. Coaching, at this level, is not about X’s and O’s. The people at this level all know the X’s and O’s of the game.

“It’s about getting people to buy in to what you’re doing as a group. I have one simple rule. ‘I want you to get better because that makes us better. I want you to have a good career. I want you to have an understanding of what your potential is.’”

Torts is a coach of the old school barking orders and cracking a whip on everyone who doesn't play up to par, Trotz was like this, but quickly changed his ways as learned that got old quick and players tuned out fast, I think Trotz would be great coach here, respectable but demanding, good for our vets and great for bringing along the young guns.

SKYO wrote:Torts is a coach of the old school barking orders and cracking a whip on everyone who doesn't play up to par, Trotz was like this, but quickly changed his ways as learned that got old quick and players tuned out fast, I think Trotz would be great coach here, respectable but demanding, good for our vets and great for bringing along the young guns.

According to Strange, everyone should be receptive to this type of old school way of coaching and if you aren't, you're gay. (not that there's anything wrong with that).

SKYO wrote:Torts is a coach of the old school barking orders and cracking a whip on everyone who doesn't play up to par, Trotz was like this, but quickly changed his ways as learned that got old quick and players tuned out fast, I think Trotz would be great coach here, respectable but demanding, good for our vets and great for bringing along the young guns.

According to Strange, everyone should be receptive to this type of old school way of coaching and if you aren't, you're gay. (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Stop dissing on the people's poster yo.

Is this what's this board has come to? jk.Nah Torts is gone, our new GM will be the one to drop the axe though.

ukcanuck wrote:A couple of obvious differences between doing a great job in Nashville and coaching in Vancouver...

One: The players here aren't expansion cast offs to be all cuddly and warm with in order to coax them into playing better.

And

Two: if the Canucks had a similar record as Nashville the past five years trotz would be long gone...

What works in Nashville is failure here

I don't see how any of that makes any sense in trying to compare two totally different teams, he started out with castoffs and got them to perform, he's been resilient with the players he had, even though the predators are a cash strapped team and they lost a lot of good players, he still has coached a good hard working team.

The fact remains Trotz is adaptable, that's the key, he see's how a players abilities are and tries to get the best of out of him.

ukcanuck wrote:A couple of obvious differences between doing a great job in Nashville and coaching in Vancouver...

One: The players here aren't expansion cast offs to be all cuddly and warm with in order to coax them into playing better.

And

Two: if the Canucks had a similar record as Nashville the past five years trotz would be long gone...

What works in Nashville is failure here

I don't see how any of that makes any sense in trying to compare two totally different teams, he started out with castoffs and got them to perform, he's been resilient with the players he had, even though the predators are a cash strapped team and they lost a lot of good players, he still has coached a good hard working team.

The fact remains Trotz is adaptable, that's the key, he see's how a players abilities are and tries to get the best of out of him.

I guess I'm saying that trotz' track record in Nashville isn't that relevant in supposing how he would do here, since what he did there would be not enough here...?

Seems like Linden could bring him in a Senior Advisory role? Quinn would be perfect for an advisory role, has coach and GM experience that TL is lacking, they then can put their ol' pal Smyl in another front office position.

--Why did the Canucks perform so badly this year?

“During the first part of the year, (the Canucks) played (their) veterans until their noses were bleeding, and then we started to hit the injuries. I talked to (team doctor) Mike Bernstein and he said the injuries are terrible. He said so many of them are coming from the blocked shots and they’re fractures, and they’re not easily healed.”

Thoughts on divvying up playing time:

“I think you don’t leave half your bench. I wanted all of our bench to play. I wanted everyone to be involved.”

“I knew that Mats (Sundin) was at the top of his game if he played about 20 minutes… I think that’s the same with these players here. There comes a point where your play will drop off, whether it’s in the third period or whether you coast a little bit so you reserve energy in the third period, you’re not at the maximum you can bring each night… That’s why I knew in ’94 we were going to beat Toronto, because they wore Gilmore out. He could hardly play against us in the semi finals.”

“The players want to play. They love being out there. I know when I used to play I wanted to be out there every shift… I like the way Detroit approaches it, Chicago approaches it, Boston approaches it – everybody gets used. The better players get to play more, but everybody gets used.”

On using everyone on the bench (including fourth liners):

“I know this: you don’t get confidence sitting on the bench and watching the play go on or getting two minutes of play, or being sent out because it gets rough out there. I don’t buy that style of coaching, and yet it exists.”

His thoughts on bringing in Tortorella to coach the team in the first place:

“To assess your team like you need a hammer – now we need the tough guy – well it’s like bringing Mike Keenan in… to pull the whip out and play the tough guy with them didn’t seem the right way to approach this group of players.”---Conclusion: Linden basically said if Tortorella doesn’t admit to and agree he made huge mistakes, he’s gone, while Quinn compared him to Mike Keenan and disagrees with everything he’s ever done… pretty sure they’re already removing Torts’ murphy bed as we speak.---

Hockey Widow wrote:It is so hard to see any scenario where Torts would be back.

Hope this is true, I like the man but hate his coaching style. He looks like a man defeated every time they focus on him on the bench during games. If you're going to start anew you need to get rid of Torts like you did with Gillis.

Hockey Widow wrote:It is so hard to see any scenario where Torts would be back.

Hope this is true, I like the man but hate his coaching style. He looks like a man defeated every time they focus on him on the bench during games. If you're going to start anew you need to get rid of Torts like you did with Gillis.

Yep. I liked this team bringing in a coach to break up the country club. Obviously imposing his style on this team was a disaster. There's being a demanding coach, and there's being an ignorant prick. Tortorella never fully grasped the makeup of his roster.

I think with all the drama surrounding the team, between Ownership/Gillis/Luongo/Tortorella etc., this season, a clean-break is what's best to refocus the franchise. New leadership at the top, new GM, new coach, some new players and hopefully a new identity as a hard-working but skill-based franchise.

I wonder where the new coach will come from. Dineen is probably going to be available after his current stint or maybe he has an out clause. Trotz always seemed to get the best out of an undermanned team and he too will be available. Carlyle seems to be on the block in Toronto. I lean toward someone who can teach as well as coach. I think this team is about to get younger and that IMHO is what is needed.